This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
It is generally known to provide temperature-controlled storage devices (e.g., a refrigerator, freezer, refrigerated merchandiser, display case, etc.) that may be used in commercial, institutional, and residential applications for storing or displaying refrigerated or frozen objects. It is also generally known to provide access to temperature-controlled storage devices (e.g., via a door or entry panel) such that refrigerated or frozen objects may be placed into the temperature-controlled display case (e.g., by a merchant) and subsequently removed from the temperature-controlled display case (e.g., by a consumer).
Traditional systems for accessing objects in a temperature-controlled display device are often space-inefficient and/or difficult to access. For example, traditional access systems often include a large entry door which may be accessed by a merchant for placing a large quantity of objects in the temperature-controlled display device simultaneously (e.g., using a fork lift, a pallet jack, etc.) and a plurality of smaller doors which may be accessed by a consumer for removing relatively smaller quantities of objects from the temperature-controlled display device (e.g., removing a single object while shopping). The smaller doors are often too small to receive a pallet of merchandise and cannot efficiently be used to stock the temperature-controlled display device. It is often necessary to provide a path from the large entry door to each of the plurality of smaller doors within the temperature-controlled display device such that the merchant can restock any of the objects from the rear without first removing other objects. The path must remain empty and therefore results in an inefficient use of space within the temperature-controlled display device. It would be desirable to provide an improved access system for a temperature-controlled display device which makes efficient use of space and facilitates easy access of both large and small quantities of objects.